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Date:      Thu, 20 Aug 2015 17:56:53 -0500
From:      Paul Schmehl <pschmehl_lists@tx.rr.com>
To:        Mark Felder <feld@FreeBSD.org>, FreeBSD Questions <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org>
Subject:   Re: Problem with freebsd-update corrupting /etc/passwd
Message-ID:  <0904D22E43B1B6A9D578E512@Pauls-MacBook-Pro.local>
In-Reply-To: <1440100869.935695.361630681.4EA48DB2@webmail.messagingengine.com>
References:  <DDFA21B09874CB3B989F4507@Pauls-MacBook-Pro.local> <1440100869.935695.361630681.4EA48DB2@webmail.messagingengine.com>

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--On August 20, 2015 at 3:01:09 PM -0500 Mark Felder <feld@FreeBSD.org> 
wrote:

>
>
> On Thu, Aug 20, 2015, at 14:17, Paul Schmehl wrote:
>> I just upgraded two servers from 8.4-RELEASE to 10.2-RELEASE.  On both
>> servers I had a problem with the /etc/passwd file after upgrade.
>>
>> This is what I got on both servers:
>>
>> # pwd_mkdb -C /etc/passwd
>> pwd_mkdb: corrupted entry
>> pwd_mkdb: at line #3
>> pwd_mkdb: /etc/passwd: Inappropriate file type or format
>>
>> On one server a single user "disappeared" (getent passwd username
>> returned
>> nothing).  On the other server, after I replaced it with
>> /etc/masster.passwd, I looped through the /etc/passwd file and getent
>> returned each entry, so no users "disappeared".
>>
>> Not sure what the problem might be, but I thought y'all should know.
>>
>
> During the upgrade did it ask you to merge some config files (passwd
> included) ? That's the only time it would do so. Corruption on line #3
> makes me think it was trying to make you manually merge the FreeBSD ID /
> timestamp at the top of the file.

No.  The only two files I was prompted to edit were /etc/motd and 
/etc/newsyslog.conf.  /etc/password was displayed, but it appeared to be 
fine to me, so I responded yes to the merge.  All it did was add the 
unbound account.

The top three lines of the file (that I renamed .bak because it was 
corrupted) are:

# cat /etc/passwd.bak
# $FreeBSD: releng/10.2/etc/master.passwd 256366 2013-10-12 06:08:18Z 
rpaulo $
#
root:*:0:0:Charlie &:/root:/bin/csh

# pwd_mkdb -C /etc/passwd.bak
pwd_mkdb: corrupted entry
pwd_mkdb: at line #3
pwd_mkdb: /etc/passwd.bak: Inappropriate file type or format

I'd be happy to send the file to someone who could analyze it.

Paul Schmehl, Retired
As if it wasn't already obvious, my opinions
are my own and not those of my employer.
*******************************************
"It is as useless to argue with those who have
renounced the use of reason as to administer
medication to the dead." Thomas Jefferson
"There are some ideas so wrong that only a very
intelligent person could believe in them." George Orwell




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